Evidence of phytohormones and phenolic acids variability in garden-waste-derived vermicompost leachate, a well-known plant growth stimulant

Abstract

Cytokinins, auxins, abscisic acid, gibberellins (GAs) and brassinosteroids (BRs) as well as the phenolic acid content in three batches of vermicompost leachate (VCL) were quantified using ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. N 6 -isopentenyladenine formed the major (60 %) proportion of the CK content while dihydrozeatin had the lowest (\0.02 %) concentration. Indole-3-acetic acid ranged from approximately 0.55-0.77 pmol/mL. A total of 18 GAs including bioactive forms and metabolic end products were observed in the VCL samples. Cathasterone had the highest (2,500-3,200 fg/mL) concentration while brassinolide was the lowest (1-5 fg/mL) abundant BRs found. Phenolic acids quantified were protocatechuic acid (3-3.6 lg/mL), p-hydroxybenzoic acid (2.5-2.8 lg/mL), p-coumaric acid (1-1.7 lg/mL) and ferulic acid (0-4 lg/mL). These results provide an indication of the rich diversity in natural PGRs and phytochemicals in VCL which may inevitably contribute to the numerous favorable physiological responses elicited by VCL application to plants.

Organic cultivation of Ashwagandha with improved biomass and high content of active Withanolides: Use of Vermicompost

“…These might have promoted a series of signalling events that affected plant metabolism like cell respiration, photosynthesis, protein synthesis and other enzymatic reactions as suggested in other studies [ 49 – 51 ]. Recently, presence of cytokinins, auxins, abscisic acid, gibberellins, brassinosteroids and phenolic compounds has been confirmed in garden waste derived Vcom-L [ 52 ]. Moreover, hormonal nature of Vcom-derived humic acids has been reported due to similarity in their action to plant growth regulators such as IAA [ 53 ].…”

Biostimulants in Plant Science: A Global Perspective

“…The study and development of biostimulants has been approached utilizing a wide range of methodological approaches including chemical and non-chemical characterization of composition (Crouch and van Staden, 1993b ; Yakhin et al, 2005 ; Parrado et al, 2008 ; Sharma et al, 2012a , b ; Ertani et al, 2013a , b ; Aremu et al, 2015a , b ), plant growth and yield studies (Khan et al, 2009 ; Kunicki et al, 2010 ; Parađiković et al, 2011 ; Zodape et al, 2011 ; Yakhin et al, 2012 , 2016b ; Chbani et al, 2013 ; Kurepin et al, 2014 ; Colla et al, 2015 ; Saa et al, 2015 ; Tandon and Dubey, 2015 ; Tian et al, 2015 ), application of the so-called -omics strategies with variations, including microarray and physiological analysis (Jannin et al, 2012 , 2013 ), transcriptome (Wilson et al, 2015 ; Goñi et al, 2016 ), genomic (Santaniello et al, 2013 ), phenomic and molecular (Petrozza et al, 2014 ), proteomic (Martínez-Esteso et al, 2016 ), chemical and metabolomic (Ertani et al, 2014 ). Ultimately, the integrative synthesis of results from multiple methodologies, particularly when integrated with the most relevant— omic technology, “agronomics,” will be required if the science and legitimacy of plant biostimulants is to advance.…”

A Seed Coating Delivery System for Bio-Based Biostimulants to Enhance Plant Growth

“…Vermicompost products can carry diverse microbial populations, particularly fungi and bacteria. Aremu et al [10] and Krishnamoorthy et al [25] suggested that microbial activity could result in the production of significant quantities of mixtures of plant hormones, such as indole acetic acid, gibberellins, cytokinins, and auxins. Those, and other microbial activity, increase enzymatic activities in plants.…”

“…Vermicomposting is a process that utilizes earthworms to convert biodegradable organic wastes such as animal manure and plant debris, into a humus-like compost product. The biostimulant properties of vermicompost have generally been attributed to the presence of substances with phytohormonal activity and humic and fulvic acids [10]. In addition, the mineralization of carbon during the vermicomposting process results in increases in nitrogen, phosphorus, and other macro and micronutrients compared to the original substrates, and can enhance bioavailability of these nutrients when vermicompost is applied as a supplement to plants [11] Hussain and Abbasi (2018) recently published an extensive review on the efficacy of vermicompost on seed germination and plant growth.…”